Quote: "I see there's an option to disable the device. What effect would disabling have and would it be reversible?"
Disabling a device in Device Manager basically turns off the hardware (in truth it disables and stops the driver, but the effect is the same). It's entirely reversible, just right-click the disabled device and hit Enable
Also, a disabled device will have a small arrow pointing downwards on the icon.
You've probably also noticed the Uninstall option when you right-click a device. This isn't permanent either, but can be fiddly to undo. All it does is uninstall the driver for that device. If you then restart your computer or click the Scan for Hardware Changes button (or possibly even just close and open Device Manager), Windows will search for plug-and-play hardware and attempt to install a driver. In the case of a graphics card, for example, Windows might install its own crappy driver and you'll have to run the NVidia/AMD driver installer again to get back to normal (fiddly but certainly not dangerous or anything). If you accidentally uninstall the drivers for a USB device (your mouse, say), just unplug it and plug it back in and Windows will reinstall the drivers automatically.
Just a tip, though: Don't go disabling or uninstalling your monitor or graphics card or your screen will go black and you'll have to boot into safe mode to fix it
Final suggestion: If it turns out you can't solve the problem with our help, I'd highly recommend you post your problem to the very helpful folks over at
Seven Forums. They're generally very thorough, friendly and helpful, and most of them are very experienced. Just do exactly what they say and provide as much information as you can
